George Szell, The Cleveland Orchestra Mozart* – Symphonies Nos. 39 & 40 Exsultate, Jubilate

The "Esterhazy Music Collection" series with the Orfeo Orchestra conducted by Gyorgy Vashegyi on the Accent label is dedicated to presenting musical treasures of the Esterhazy family, many of which have been largely forgotten over the centuries. The recordings usually take place in the Apollo Hall of the Esterhazy Palace in Fertod-Eszterhaza, whose acoustics are among the best in the world. The present production is the third volume and offers a selection of earlier symphonies by Joseph Haydn. In addition to Symphonies Nos. 24, 42 and 43 from the years 1764 to 1771, No. 30, which already bore the epithet "Alleluja" on contemporary copies from 1765, is also heard. This is based on the use of the Gregorian Alleluia of the Easter liturgy in the main theme of the first movement. The symphony may have been composed for ecclesiastical use; a possible performance took place on Easter Sunday 1765.

The German conductor Otto Klemperer (1885-1973) was born in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland). He studied at the Frankfurt Conservatory, then at Berlin's Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory, where he took lessons in composition and conducting from Pfitzner, making his debut in Berlin in 1906 with Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers. On Mahler's recommendation he became chorus master then conductor at Prague's German Theatre (1907-10); between 1910 and 1917 he worked at the opera houses of Hamburg, Bremen and Strasbourg; he was musical director at Cologne (1917-24), Wiesbaden (1924-27) and Berlin's Kroll Opera (1927–31), but left Nazi Germany in 1933, eventually settling in the USA, where he became conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1933-39).

This third album release in the first complete Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919–2008) symphony cycle includes the composer’s final symphonic creation, Symphony No. 8, with a remarkable organ solo part performed by the award-winning organist Iveta Apkalna, alongside the composer’s dramatic and concise 5th Symphony, both conducted by Andris Poga and performed by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.

“We might just be within an ace of the finest Brahms symphony cycle of the digital era. Marek Janowski and the Pittsburgh Symphony commenced the series with impressive accounts of Symphony No 1 and the Haydn Variations.

William Steinberg was recognized as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of the Brahms Symphonies. “Luxurious sound … Above all, Steinberg makes his Brahms sing” is how the New York Times commented on the 4th symphony with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the time of the original release in 1961. Remastered from the original tapes, the full set of his Brahms Symphonies will now be released on CD and for download & streaming. Set for release on 4 March and available for pre-order now.Listen to the first pre-release track ‘Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68: III un poco allegretto e grazioso’ now!

This digital-only recording features the Second Symphonies of Julius Eastman and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—works that, despite being separated by over 100 years of history, share a remarkable vibrancy and hidden sentiment that continue to resonate today.

This new Beethoven symphony cycle with Malmö Symphony Orchestra is conductor Robert Trevino’s debut release on Ondine. Trevino is one of the fastest rising young conductors and known for his fresh and vivid interpretations of both standard repertoire as well as contemporary works.

This third album release in the first complete Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919–2008) symphony cycle includes the composer’s final symphonic creation, Symphony No. 8, with a remarkable organ solo part performed by the award-winning organist Iveta Apkalna, alongside the composer’s dramatic and concise 5th Symphony, both conducted by Andris Poga and performed by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Saito Kinen Orchestra, and is commemorated with the release of this live recording of the orchestra conducted by Nodoka Okisawa at the 2024 Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.